Commerce Department Rule Seeks to Bar Sales of Hacking Software, Gear to Repressive Regimes
FCC Commissioner seeks to impose restrictions on Chinese drone maker, Widely used spyware can expose sensitive files on targeted phones,
To dampen the sale of hacking tools to repressive regimes, the Commerce Department announced a new rule that would bar sales of hacking software and equipment to China and Russia without a license from the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).
The rule is slated to take effect in 90 days and would cover software such as Pegasus, a spyware product sold by the Israeli firm NSO Group to governments that have used it to spy on dissidents and journalists. However, under the complex rule, software intended for cyber defense purposes, such as penetration testing, sold to nongovernment persons, is exempted from needing a license. The rule aligns the United States with the 42 European and other allies that are members of the Wassenaar Arrangement, which sets voluntary export control policies on military and dual-use technologies. (Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post)
Related: Commerce Department, Federal Register
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